


Winterbond

by MoonReever



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ancient Curse, Attempted Murder, Banishment, Getting to Know Each Other, Hurt/Comfort, Imprisonment, Inspired by What if Thor, Jotunn Biology (Marvel), Jotunn Loki (Marvel), Jotunn Loki has two genitals, Jotunn Thor (Marvel), Lady Loki, Loki growing up with Hela instead of Thor, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, Minor Character Death, Minor Violence, Near Death Experiences, Soul-Binding Curse, Thor taking care of Loki and vice versa, getting stranded, peace treaty, Æsir Thor, Æsir loki
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-26
Updated: 2019-12-12
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:46:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 17,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21571672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonReever/pseuds/MoonReever
Summary: Jealousy is a familiar thing to Loki, Prince of Asgard, who feels like a forgotten shadow in his family and realm. His sister, Hela, always cast a large shadow over him and is favored by his father, Odin.He thinks he must do something about that to turn the situation to his favor.He didn't expect his little plan would get him stranded in the frozen realm called Jotunheim with dangerous Frost Giants lurking around.He also didn't expect to meet the Cursed Prince of Jotunheim. But mostly, he did not expect there was more to the prince than meets the eye, and that Loki himself might be more than just Prince of Asgard.Together, they figure out the mystery about who they are, the curse, the way to bring peace to their kingdoms, and what they mean to each other..This is a different take on the first Thor movie combined with What If Thor written for Thorki Big Bang 2019.
Relationships: Loki/Thor (Marvel)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 82
Collections: Thorki Big Bang 2019





	1. Winter of Jotunheim (Part I)

**Author's Note:**

> Here it goes, my piece for Thorki Big Bang 2019! I was working on this for so long that I just couldn't believe it's finally here.  
>   
> Many thanks to the [mods](https://twitter.com/thorkibigbang) for this awesome event! I had a lot of fun working on this and interacting with you and the other authors on our Discord server.  
>   
> And a huge, giant thanks to [Johnny](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Johniarty/profile) for reading and beta-ing my work and [Bay](https://twitter.com/Bay13579b) for creating an awesome art that I absolutely love for this Big Bang fic!  
>   
> Also, come and talk to me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/thiefofwords).  
> 

There was nothing remotely peaceful in Loki's mind or life. Jealousy and fear were a constant, irritating thing, like an itch settled deep in the skin that he couldn't scratch or gouge out. They became distractingly apparent every time his eyes caught the sight of Odin's firstborn. 

Hela; the sister who would someday replace Odin in the throne and continued to cast a large shadow over him. Hela; the servant of war and Death who made conquest a symbol of Asgard's glory. Much like Odin, but stronger in ambition. She deemed killing a pleasant, necessary thing. 

Loki saw the storm in every move Hela made as she was sparring with the army of Valkyries; powerful, precise, destructive, and without hesitation. If Loki closed his eyes, he could feel the presence of Death in the swing of Hela's blades and the taunt in her voice; cold and unforgiving, yet natural. Hela wore hunger like a king's robe. 

“Weak.” 

The word was said as judgment and mockery, and despite it was not directed at him, Loki took it like a bleeding wound all the same. His green eyes trained on the same sentence he had been trying to read since fifteen minutes ago, thin lips flattened in irritation, sharp cheekbone met with the palm of his hand as he coaxed his body into a relaxed stance whilst he pretended to read the book he held. 

“All of you are so weak, it's kind of sad.” Hela continued to say while circling the Valkyries with disappointment visible on her expression. “Not to mention, disgraceful. Aren't you Odin's most prominent warriors?” 

Loki closed the book he was too distracted to continue reading with a barely audible thump at the same time as one of the Valkyries — Brunnhilde, he remembered the name because of the warrior’s apparent distaste toward Hela — rose to her feet and stepped forward with admirable elegance as if she never took a blow from the Goddess of Death. 

“With all due respect, Your Highness. We, Valkyries, have tried our best. But this training doesn't feel like a way to make us fight better.” Brunnhilde stated, her lips trembling slightly to restrain herself from gritting her teeth in anger. Her gaze was sharp and deadly, proudly showing defiance against Hela. 

The _‘it feels like a show to display unnecessary arrogance and dominance’_ was left unsaid but Loki heard it clearly all the same. He had to bite his lower lip to school his expression at that. Brunnhilde's courage was admirable, he had to give her that. 

“Are you criticizing my method?” Hela said in return, sensing the challenge in Brunnhilde's tone. She walked closer toward the black-haired Valkyrie; eyebrows raised. She found her defiance intriguing and irritating at the same time. 

“I only said what I think it is.” Brunnhilde shot back without missing a beat, trying to appear unaffected as she stood her ground. Loki didn't even see her flinch when Hela approached her. 

Hela hummed at that; her posture remained calm, but it was the calm of a predator. She stopped right in front of Brunnhilde with only a sparse few inches separating them. They were glaring each other down, both unmoving, but Loki knew they each waited for the other to make the first move. 

He could feel the air charged with tension; it was suffocating. As much as he was enjoying it, it wouldn't end well for him if he let Hela kill one of Odin's warriors because of petty arguments while he stood by and did nothing. So, he called out without hesitation and caught Hela's attention. 

“If I may interject, sister, you could also use some rest. It is, after all, just sparring and not a war.” Loki jumped down from his seat at the railing that encircled the training grounds, displaying a pleasant smile to ease the tension. Green light swirled around the book he was holding to his chest and swallowed it up, sending it back into his pocket dimension. 

Hela gave him a deadpan look for a moment. “Do you take pity on them?” Her black helmet reminded Loki of a stag at this angle. He continued to smile sweetly at her. 

“You don't want to lose warriors before the war even begins again,” he chose to say instead, looking around at the battered Valkyries for emphasis. 

“There is no use spoiling warriors. It will only make them want to rest on the battlefield.” She looked at Brunnhilde as she said so. The Valkyrie returned the stare with displeasure. “And we both know there is no rest in war.” 

“But this is not a battlefield.” Loki reminded her, walking toward Hela and Brunnhilde, hoping they would simply give it a rest. 

“It very well might be.” Said Hela again; her eyes never left Brunnhilde's face. There was a challenge in her tone. She probably hoped Brunnhilde would take the bait. 

Brunnhilde didn't. 

“Is it, though? Is this the definition of a battlefield?” Loki asked instead, the amusement audible in his voice and crystal clear in the sharp edge of his stare. 

Hela turned back to assess him properly. Her eyes were a piercing darkness that left Loki feeling unsettled. 

“I guess not,” said Hela finally, relenting with a sigh and a jerk of one shoulder. 

“It's not,” Loki said with a slight nod. “At least, it's not the kind of battle you want.” He added matter-of-factly. 

“And what kind of battle do you think I want, brother?” Hela asked him; smirking, mocking, Loki hated it. 

_The kind that has a prize worthy of your title and ambition_ , he wanted to say, but he decided against it. 

“It's almost time for our meeting with Father.” Said Loki instead, smiling politely. Putting on facades were one of his talents, after all. He was about to leave when Hela thought of another idea. 

“What do you say to one more round before I take a break?” Hela pointed her blade at Loki, who raised his eyebrows in return. “I can imagine that reading a book would stiffen your muscles. A little warm-up would be necessary, don't you think?” 

_Ah, here comes the arrogance._

Loki assessed her for a moment. Hela wanted a show, he mused. He could give her that. 

“Very well, sister.” He shrugged — it looked nonchalant enough yet still carried grace — and continued to approach Hela, who wore a rather smug and amused expression. “What are the rules this time?” 

Hela would sometimes help him train to fight in his adolescence. She was good compared to all the tutors Odin sent his way, although her methods were harsh and - dare he say it - traumatizing. Loki was keenly aware of the difference in their strength as well as her style of combat. 

“One blow,” said Hela, bracing her hand on her waist. She acted as though she was bored. 

Loki nodded again. “One blow. If I can strike you once, then you agree to take a rest.” 

“Only if you manage.” Hela reminded him with a slight tilt of her head. 

“Only if I manage.” Loki gave a lazy smile and repeated her words.

“Then what are you waiting for? Pick your weapon, little brother.” She twirled her blade and made her way to the center of the training ground. The Valkyries quickly relocated to the sidelines. 

Loki summoned the daggers from his pocket dimension; green _seidr_ wrapped around his hands and called upon a pair of his favorite weapons — the handle of the twin daggers was enveloped in black and gold and beautiful carvings decorated the surface of the silver metal. 

“I already have,” Loki stated simply; one corner of his lips curled upward in a coy grin. 

He passed by Brunnhilde as he followed Hela's lead.

“Aim below the left shoulder at the back,” she whispered softly. The voice was low, barely audible, but Loki still caught it. It was the area where Brunnhilde managed to land an attack on. He didn't react or say anything in response though; his expression didn't even show that he heard at all. It didn't matter, Brunnhilde knew he’d listened. 

When Loki and Hela were standing opposite each other in the center of the field, Hela raised an eyebrow at his daggers. She flashed a lazy smirk before saying, “You can't fight a wolf with a twig — or _twigs_ , in this matter.” 

Loki took a quick glance at one of his daggers before giving Hela a one-shoulder shrug. "Do you consider yourself a wolf, dear sister?" One corner of his lips curled into a smirk, but not quite. 

"Not really," Hela kept her expression neutral for a moment, but cruelty bled into her grin. "I am Asgard's _future_." 

The corner of Loki's eye twitched so slightly that it was easy to miss. He schooled his expression into a blank mask smoothly.

"Careful there, we don't want to jinx it." 

He charged toward Hela in quick strides, throwing his daggers one after another to create an opening. Hela deflected the flying projectiles with her necrosword without batting an eyelash. That came as no surprise though. That same sword was waiting to make contact with him as soon as he got close enough. So, Loki dropped himself in time with the swing of Hela's arm and used the momentum to slide through. 

Seeing his chance, he quickly got up and shot a blast of energy from his open palm at short range. But Hela's reflexes were faster; she managed to turn around whilst generating one more necrosword and put both of the blades in front of her — they formed an 'x' to shield her from the blast. 

As soon as the attack was over, Loki was met with a flying sword directed at his face. He managed to avoid the blade with a quick dodge. "That was dangerous. Please be careful, sister." Loki said with a wry laugh; he had to take a few steps back as Hela threw another sword his way. 

Hela kept conjuring more swords and threw each one at him; they were raining down on him quite mercilessly and there was no way he could get past them unscathed… unless he could be smaller, and faster. With that in mind, Loki reached for his _seidr_ ; green light immediately encompassed all of him like a cocoon and a moment later, he was transformed into a lovebird. In his new form, he managed to dodge the rain of blades with rapid flight maneuvers - although some almost managed to clip his wings. 

Hela didn't give him a chance or space to get close though; she knew how to make things hard, Loki had to give that to her. At this rate he would exhaust himself flying and Hela would use that opportunity to checkmate him. That, Loki thought, wouldn't do at all. 

Loki managed to avoid being skewered by Hela's blade, if only barely, so that was good. But he couldn't stay on the defensive, only flying in zig-zags whilst circling the training ground. This kind of fight wouldn't satisfy either of them. He needed to think of something, anything, and quick. And if Hela wouldn't give him any opening, he needed to make one himself. 

"Is this the best you can give, brother?" taunted Hela; her eyebrow raised and a smirk unfurled across her lips. She kept conjuring her necroswords and threw them with ease as if it didn't exhaust her at all. Loki would have rolled his eyes if he weren't busy trying not to be skewered.

"Come on, Brother. It’s starting to get a little boring." Hela threw another one and almost hit Loki's head. Her precision was so good it was troublesome. 

_Very well_ , Loki mused, _let's see how you deal with this_. As he swiftly flew past the sword, Loki produced a horde of illusions of his lovebird form; he let the flock surround him before scattering in all directions, not giving Hela a moment to pinpoint which one was the real Loki. 

Loki saw the exact moment when the Goddess of Death fixed a more defensive stance; her annoyance was written all over her face and Loki reveled in that. Hela's reaction was a good sign for him to continue with his plan. But his next move had to be threaded carefully. 

Hela chose to move from her spot then, deciding she would prefer to slash all of the birds rather than throw more necroswords. It was wise, Loki mused. But it made things harder for him to hit Hela in her blindspot. And if Loki got careless, even for a little bit, in trying to find the perfect opportunity, Hela would know which bird was the real him. And the fight would end before he could blink. 

No, Loki didn't want that. He needed to stay calm and think this through, paying attention to both Hela's and his own movements. He also needed to be fast because Hela already obliterated most of his illusions. In the middle of his warring thoughts, Loki saw Hela's sword cut through five of his other illusions with one single effective swing. Hela might not be a strategist but she could definitely be level-headed in a battle, choosing which route and method to best her enemies and exterminate them. He knew that their gap was so big; he couldn't overpower Hela with magic alone. 

But he wouldn't be the God of Mischief if he couldn't think of a trick or two to catch Hela off guard. 

Loki chose one of his bird illusions that was right behind Hela's back and turned it into his Aesir form, complete with dagger ready in his hand. Just as he expected, Hela swiftly turned around; she swung the blade at the illusion as she did so. At the same time, Loki positioned himself behind Hela who was attacking his illusion and transformed back. He called for his dagger and it came into existence in his right hand. 

But then Hela spun around to meet him; her hand caught Loki's neck and pushed him to the ground. The tip of the necrosword was a hair away from his left eye; it was so completely and eerily black that it didn't even glint under the harsh sunlight. For a moment, there was only his panting. And then Hela's smirk bloomed. 

"Too bad that it's ov—" 

She didn't get to finish her taunt as her expression contorted into a mix of shocked and pained one before anger took over. 

"You little rascal!" 

Loki smiled smugly as Hela reached over her left shoulder and brought a wriggling little snake into sight. Blood - obviously Hela's - stained its little fangs. The green snake hissed angrily at Hela before it changed into Loki's dagger. 

"A win's a win, sister." 

Hela pressed her lips together; she glowered down at Loki, totally at her mercy, and for a moment it didn't feel like she was going to release him. Loki lay still and met his sister's gaze with a deep sense of calm. Patience and confidence bled onto his smile. Hela withdrew her blade with a huff of annoyance. With her other hand she threw the dagger carelessly and it landed beside Loki's head. 

She rose to her feet and squinted at Loki as if she was expecting another trick before she turned to leave. Loki put his elbow on the ground to support his weight while his other hand came up to his neck, massaging the place Hela's hand had choked. He stood up slowly and dusted off his clothes, fetching his dagger to send it back to his pocket dimension. 

"That was unnecessarily harsh, sister." Loki told Hela as soon as he caught up with her. He walked closely behind Hela, smiling victoriously even though she couldn't see him. 

"I always take sparring seriously, you should have known better." Hela replied coolly. She raised her hands to her head to banish her helmet and in its place her long black hair ran down her back.

"You could have seriously injured me." Loki said again, though there was no heat in his voice. It was just for the sake of conversation. 

"And yet you left unscathed." He heard Hela say, a hint of amusement in her voice. "I wouldn't ask you to spar with me if I thought you couldn't handle it — couldn't make it entertaining." 

Entertaining Hela meant making the fight last as long and unpredictable as possible. 

Loki grinned. "Oh so you _do_ care about my well-being." 

Hela turned her head to look at him and regarded him seriously before saying, "I don't." 

Loki gasped and held his chest, feigning hurt and disbelief. "You really know how to hit where it hurts, sister." 

Hela only gave him a little twitch of her mouth at the corner, a cold smirk before turning to leave again. Loki followed closely behind, wearing an expression as bright as his mood. 

He thought perhaps beating Hela in her own game would be the only good thing he had that day. 

Oh how the Norns proved him wrong. 

* * *

"I beg your pardon? Ending the war with Jotunheim after all this time?!"

Loki winced a bit when Hela raised her voice at their Father's bold declaration in the throne room. Odin sighed as if he was expecting this reaction and met Hela's angry glare with the calm of an old king. His gaze was steady in a moment of tense silence. 

Then, Odin said without hesitation, "That is exactly why after all this time, we need to bring peace to the two realms." He raised a hand when Hela opened her mouth to protest. "And not only that, it is also time for us to stop the expansion." 

That only further fueled Hela's anger and disbelief. She stepped closer to Odin as if distance alone could change their Father's mind. 

"We have been putting so much effort, so many warriors on the line to expand Asgard. Why are you telling us this now, why all of a sudden?!" Hela demanded. Her lip curled upward in snarl. 

"Because Asgard is old and tired." Odin told her. He walked closer to the throne but didn't sit on it. "There is too much bloodshed already, perhaps we should find another method to unite the realms." 

"And that method is peace?" Hela scoffed as if the very idea of peace was ridiculous to begin with. "That is naive, Father." 

Loki looked back and forth between Odin and Hela and tried hard not to give away his amusement. To be honest, he didn't really mind Odin's sudden decision to be more benevolent. But the fact that Hela reacted so strongly toward it was a good sign. For him, at least. 

"There is a difference between naivety and changing for the better," Odin held Hela's challenging glare, returning it with an unwavering gaze. "As a future ruler, I hope you can learn how to separate the two." 

Hela gritted her teeth at that; her fists turned white at her side. "This is a mistake, Father." She said at last, a vain attempt at trying to work the situation to her favor. They all knew it. 

Loki pressed his lips together and dropped his gaze to his feet, hiding the ghost of a smile on his face. He was fiddling with his fingers behind his back as his excitement worked its way to his chest. He kept his shoulders straight though, maintaining the pretense of a polite stance. 

Odin shook his head and gave his children a stern gaze. "I leave for Vanaheim tomorrow to discuss a peace treaty with King Laufey in a neutral ground."

Hela widened her eyes and opened her mouth to protest, but Odin beat her to it. "And this decision is final, I will not leave it up for discussion." 

Loki bowed his head at that. The corner of his lips twitched slightly as the gears in his mind started to work on a plan.

"I will have you know that this is madness, Father." Hela tried again. "Not only Jotunheim, but the other realms will see this as a weakness." 

Odin studied her for a moment before turning his back. The edge of his robe caressed the floor gracefully. "I am done talking. Both of you may leave." 

And that was all it took for Hela to storm out of the room; her steps echoed loudly in her fury. Loki turned his head slightly to see her disappearing out of sight. And then, his eyes found his father's back again. 

He knew Odin could be fickle sometimes, but this decision felt a little off to him. He considered asking again, but sensing Odin's mood, he decided against it.

With a little bow at his father, Loki then said, "I will take my leave." 

Odin didn't turn back to face him, but a slight tilt of his head was a sign that he was listening. 

Loki left the throne room with more thinking to be done. 

* * *

The next day found Loki in the library alone. His gaze fixed on a book he laid on top of the desk, fully occupied with the information written there. 

Or at least, it appeared that way. Loki had placed his illusion there to make sure everyone thought he was still in the palace. 

The real one was far away from the palace, in a more secluded area of the town. There was a rundown ale house, and Loki was currently inside, wearing her female skin that had been kept secret from the public eye and seating herself across from a shady-looking man with greasy hair and a missing front tooth. 

The ale house was, by any description, lacking everything. From lack of visitors to the lack of care in maintaining the place. The wooden tables and chairs were dirty, with thick dust accumulated on the surfaces, and some were no longer intact. A chunk or two were spotted missing, probably from fights that sometimes broke out. 

There were only five people inside, Loki included. The other three were sellswords who quietly drank their ale and/or ate their soups and porridge while they waited for a client who would buy their services and an old woman with dirty linen dress who served the customers but currently, she was just absentmindedly wiping the wooden cups.

It was typically not a place Loki liked to set foot in, but her plan required her to do so since there was something she needed there, namely the service of the sellsword that sat in front of her. Amongst them all, the man had the best reputation of finishing the job neatly. And neatly was all Loki wanted for her plan. 

Loki watched the man silently; her braided hair sat down on the line of her shoulder with the end of it reaching her breast. She still had her black cloak on, though the hood was off her head and fell limply to her back. 

The man was checking the contents of the two bags Loki just gave him; both of them were full of gold coins. Grinning in satisfaction, the man looked up to her. 

"All right, I will take these." 

"The rest will be given once the job is done. And it should be done _well_." Loki told the man coolly, smiling in a distant way that made her look unreadable. She took a scroll of paper out of her cloak and slid it across the table. 

"Worry not, M'Lady. I am a man of my word." The man smirked again, showcasing his missing tooth and taking the scroll eagerly. He put the scroll in the dirty bag he brought with him before looking at Loki again. And then, his expression took quite a change. "Speaking of my payment," he said again, leering at Loki, "I can give you a special price if you agree to accompany me for a night." 

Loki held back a grimace at that, and raised her eyebrows instead. "I appreciate the offer," she said, giving the man a stern gaze. "But I prefer our current arrangement." 

The man only shrugged, "Can't hurt to reconsider." He pulled the bags to his side and cocked his head to the side.

"No need for that," Loki told him, letting the ice bleed in her tone. She pushed the chair back and stood up. "It is nice doing business with you, Ingvar, son of Arfast." 

The man, Ingvar, looked at Loki for a moment before getting up as well; his chair gave a haunting screech as it was roughly pushed back. "No, the pleasure is all mine, M'Lady." 

Loki pulled her hood up as she stepped out of the ale house. She went over her plan in her head while making her way back to the palace, careful of any watching eyes. It would go well, she tried to convince herself. Ingvar would do his job well as a messenger to King Laufey, or better yet, his children. The princes of Jotunheim, so eager to please their father that they would accept Loki's offer. 

_Eager to please their father._

Loki scoffed to herself at the thought. The concept was too familiar to her. Too embarrassing, too painful. Look how it worked out for her. But it was all right, if Odin never acknowledged her birthright and what she was capable of, then she would make him _look_. 

Yes, all would be well. She did not give out her name, her status, or the family of where she came from to Ingvar. No identity to track it back to her if anything least favorable happened. She even made her handwriting to be different than her usual in the letter that would be given to King Laufey and the princes. 

If worse came to worst and Ingvar got killed by Laufey or the princes, then she would have to find another way to convince Jotunheim. Loki couldn't possibly go alone to do that herself what with the tension between the two realms and the harm it could do to her position and wellbeing. 

Loki pressed her lips together as her mind tried to come up with another plan. She managed to avoid any Asgardian by taking a shortcut to the palace. She found out a lot about safe routes and secret pathways in her adolescent since she liked to explore whenever the boredom hit and the books weren't enough to dissuade that. All the routes and pathways were then put in her self-made map because Loki knew it would come in handy soon. As Loki grew up into an adult, she had the map memorized already in her head and could go out and into the palace without being noticed. 

Perhaps only her mother that did notice her sneaking out of the palace. Although to her credit, she never scolded Loki for that. Frigga only gave her a mischievous and knowing smile whenever she saw Loki acting suspicious. And she took comfort in knowing they were the only ones in on a secret. Her mother was the only one who truly and deeply cared for her, and she was the only one who could understand her. Frigga never once favored one of her children over the other. And the most important thing was she had always trusted Loki relentlessly. Perhaps that was one of the reasons Loki hadn't gone mad with frustration of never getting the acknowledgment she knew she deserved from her father. Her mother had always been her anchor, her tether, and her safe haven. 

Speaking of her mother, she definitely must be kept in the dark about her plan. Not only would she ruin it, but Loki couldn't bring herself to see the disappointment in Frigga's face if she knew what she was about to do. It would hurt too much. 

Too lost in her own fear and thought, she almost let out a yelp when a royal guard passed in front of her. She was already inside the palace by the time her mind caught up with her feet. 

Loki changed into his male form again, being careful for any guards and servants who walked nearby. When he finally got to the library, he stopped himself at the doors. He opened it carefully and saw no one was there except for his illusion. So he slipped inside and closed the door without making any sound. With a take of breath, he made the illusion of himself vanish so he could replace it. 

As soon as he got himself seated, he heard footsteps approaching down the hall. Loki pretended to be engrossed with the book whilst calming his heartbeats when moments later, a guard came in and approached him. Loki looked up to see a polite bow; his eyes conveyed the permission to speak. 

"My Prince, the All-Father is expecting your presence at the observatory before his leave for Vanaheim." The guard told him politely. 

When Loki nodded, the guard bowed his head again and retreated to the doors. 

He closed the book and rose to his feet to make his way to put the book in the right section. After checking for any possible scratch or torn or flipped page and finding none of that, he slid the book back to the empty slot and took a moment to admire the rest of the book in the history section. 

Then, with a bit of reluctance, he left the library to send his father off. 

* * *

Odin and Frigga were already waiting when he arrived at the observatory. 

He took his stance at Frigga's side after climbing down his horse and met her smile with his own. Odin was talking with Heimdall about the matter of Asgard protection in the duration of his leaving. Some royal guards, servants, and advisors were also present and ready to come along with their king to Vanaheim. 

Loki frowned when his eyes didn't find one figure that was supposed to be there. 

"Your sister is likely not going to join us, dear." His mother, ever so observant, told him gently. 

"Is she still mad about father's decision?" It was a rhetorical question but his mother still answered nonetheless. 

"She can be stubborn like your father. You know how she is. Just give her time." Frigga touched his arm and looked at him warmly. 

Loki wasn't sure that Hela would change her mind even if milennia had passed, but he wasn't going to argue about it. Instead, he offered his mother a small smile. 

Odin came up to him and gave a firm pat on his shoulder as he said, "I will leave your mother and Asgard in your care for a few days." His voice didn't give away any hint of exhaustion but it was visible in the way his eyes drooped a little and red lines rimmed his iris. Loki wondered if it was the thoughts of peace treaty that caused it. 

Loki nodded once. "And I will not let you down." 

Then Odin turned to Frigga and let himself be hugged as Frigga whispered for him to be careful in which Odin told her he would for a king wouldn't let himself be put in any unnecessary danger. 

Then they pulled apart. And Frigga looked at Odin with eyes a little glassy. She took a moment to just stare, conveying something big with look alone, a look that was indecipherable to Loki, before she sighed a "thank you". 

Odin gave her a weak smile. 

And Loki looked away. 

Behind that intimate moment, there was something else going on. It was like they were in on a secret. 

Odin gave him another pat on the shoulder before he walked to Sleipnir and climbed onto its saddle. Then, Heimdall opened the bifrost and gave the All-Father another polite bow. Odin disappeared into that tunnel of bursting colors along with his parade. 

Loki craned his neck to look at his mother then—just to look, to see if there was any hint to piece together of what seemed to be a secret between her and the All-Father. But the smile Frigga flashed at him gave nothing away. 

"You can go back to the palace without me, dear." 

Loki blinked. The "but why" was at the tip of his tongue. "Do you need to consult Heimdall about Asgard matters?" 

"I only wish to borrow his all-seeing eyes. To see all the way to Jotunheim and make sure that King Laufey will not change his mind about the peace treaty after your father has left to Vanaheim. While Asgard is not vulnerable even with the king's absence, we still have to take precautions, don't we?"

Frigga didn't lie, Loki knew that from the way her eyes held his steady with the softness a mother reserved for her children and the fierceness a queen had to protect her realm. Still, that didn't mean she told Loki everything. 

"Don't I need to know about that as well?" He insisted. Wanted to see a glimpse of the secret his mother kept. 

"And that you do. Worry not, my dear, for I will tell you if there is anything to tell. But please, let me have the honor to help your father in his decision to bring peace upon the two realms this time since we both know that you and your sister have done a lot for Asgard already. And with Hela not pleased about the current turn of events, it is my duty to have the king's back."

Loki's throat worked before he sighed. He couldn't say anything against that. So he finally conceded. 

"Very well, then. I will leave you to it. But please know that you have contributed a lot to the All-Father and to our golden realm. Even more than Hela and me. The ultimate strength of a king lies with his queen." 

To that, Frigga pulled Loki into her embrace. Her warmth was welcoming and comforting. She was his source of strength as well as Odin's. Loki smiled as he wrapped his hands around Frigga's middle in return, feeling the softness of her yellow dress on the palms of his hands. 

He returned with his horse to the golden palace alone after that. Loki decided that whatever secret his parents kept from him was better to leave alone today. 

* * *

The next day, Ingvar returned from Jotunheim with the news. 

They met at the mouth of the cave that led to the secret pathway to that frozen realm, deep in the forest. It was really early in the day — most Asgardians were probably still asleep, leaving the streets nearly empty. Loki tied her horse a bit far from their meeting point in case Ingvar recognized it. 

The fact that the sellsword returned unharmed was already a good sign. But she knew she couldn't be too relieved by that, at least until most of her plan executed with no trouble. 

Ingvar looked the same as the day they met. He had a smug grin to his face as he handed a scroll of letter to Loki whilst his other hand was holding a torch to light up his path. She took it with a tad bit of suspicion and opened the seal that bound the parchment. 

She eyed the sellsword carefully. "How has Jotunheim been treating you?" 

"Vicious at first," He rolled his shoulders into a shrug; an attempt to be seen as casual, that the danger didn't matter to him. "They took me to the princes since their king is apparently absent." 

"They were ready to behead me but I gave them your letter. The tallest and biggest of the three seemed to consider it for a while and I was thrown into prison while they discussed whatever the Hel it was that you wrote." 

Ah, so it was most likely Helblindi, the crown prince, who sent this letter, Loki thought briefly. She still hadn't said a word, waiting for Ingvar to finish his report. 

"When they freed me, the oldest prince said 'tell your Master that we agree to their terms' and gave me that letter." He nodded toward the scroll that Loki postponed to read. 

Loki's lips thinned into a cool smile. "Well done." 

Ingvar smiled right back at her. "A man’s gotta keep his reputation, M'Lady." 

Loki shrugged her shoulders; the movement was so graceful it didn't seem like a jerk. Then she started to straighten the parchment and read what was written inside. 

It was as Ingvar said, an agreement. With a detailed explanation of how they were going to send three Jotnar to retrieve the Casket of Ancient Winters. _Perfect_ , she thought. At least they knew what it meant to be stealthy. 

They also asked for the sellsword to be back in Jotunheim as a guarantee, which was no problem. It was what Loki paid him to do after all. 

"You have to go back there and play prisoner for a bit more." Loki told Ingvar as she scrolled the parchment back, retracting it inside her cloak and putting it in her pocket dimension as soon as it was out of Ingvar's sight. 

Ingvar shot his eyebrows high, but then he shrugged. "It is no trouble, dear lady. I could use some vacation in a frozen wasteland." 

Loki ignored the sarcasm, and said, "I will be seeing you again tomorrow with the Jotnar." 

"Here?" Ingvar sounded unsure. 

"Yes." 

"One more thing," Loki produced a black necklace with shiny green stone tied at the middle from his pocket dimension when her hand was inside her cloak. The triquetra was carved onto the jewel if one would look closely. "I want you to tie this at the mouth of the secret pathway to Asgard in Jotunheim."

Ingvar took it from her hand. "What's this? It's beautiful." 

"A necklace." Loki deadpanned. "Nothing you should worry about." 

Ingvar blinked a few times, and then he sighed. He pocketed the necklace without further question about it. 

"All right, Lady. As you wish." 

"Oh, but won't the Gatekeeper know if there is an intruder?" Ingvar, who was a moment ago ready to close the conversation and the meeting, suddenly became wary at the sudden realization. 

"About that," Loki huffed. "You can leave it to me. We will not get caught." 

_I can not afford to fail and get caught_ , Loki thought bitterly. 

Ingvar considered her, still somewhat doubtful but didn't seem to want to call it off. "I hope you know what you are doing, lady." 

And then he turned back to walk into the cave again whilst muttering something under his breath. 

_Yes_ , Loki thought mournfully, _I hope I do too_. 

* * *

Loki was really nervous when the next day arrived. The time had finally come for the final stage of his plan. 

It was the same time as the day before; the outside was still engulfed in the dark, and the stars were still up in the sky. It would not be long until the gradient of blue came to paint the sky, the first sign of the morning sun.

So, Loki needed to hurry. 

He snuck into the stable to release his horse and slipped outside of the palace without notice. When he deemed it far enough, he climbed up the saddle and changed into his female form. Then Loki took off in the dark to the forest where she could continue her plan. 

He led his horse to the forest entrance and climbed down when she deemed the distance was enough. She tied her horse to one of the trees with a distinctly strange shaped trunk then continued her little trip by foot. 

She lit up a ball of green fire from her _seidr_ as she walked through tall grasses and fallen branches. The edge of her dress and cloak swept the forest floor, making the grass bow as she passed by. The buzzing of bugs, the hymns of nocturnal animals, and the occasional crunch of twigs she stepped on became more audible the deeper she went. 

She remembered the path even with the trees getting thicker and crowding on her as if they were curious of her presence. There was a small forest clearing in front of her, and she could see the cave that worked as a secret pathway to Jotunheim. Ingvar and the jotnar had not arrived yet, which was exactly what she wanted. 

Loki got the five bags of gold coins that she promised Ingvar out of her pocket dimension and waited for his arrival in the mouth of the cave. She hoped they would arrive on time for two reasons: the first being she did not want to wait too long in the forest in fear of attracting predators and secondly, she did not want the delay to be the downfall of her plan. 

Relief came to her as soon as footsteps echoed from inside the cave. Loki could tell from the sounds that they belonged to four people. One of them was very light, very easy to miss if one did not pay attention to it. It must belong to Ingvar; years of experience as a sellsword gave him the habit of lightening his steps. It was very useful for stealth works and effective in battle because it saved energy necessary to take down opponents. The three other footsteps were slow and heavy compared to Ingvar's. The heaviness was a dead giveaway that the owners must have a figure so big, bigger than Aesir. They belonged to no other than the Jotnar sent by the princes. 

She put off the green ball of flame when the footsteps got even closer. The first one who appeared from inside the cave was Ingvar who carried a torch in his hand, exhaustion and worry embed onto his expression. But it soon changed with delight as soon as his eyes found the bags laying near Loki's feet. His steps became a bit rush as greed washed over his worries and lifted his spirit. 

Loki moved away to give space to the group. The Jotnar finally came into sight, with them having to bend their bodies so they could fit in the cramped space of the cave. Their hands crawled on the cave wall to help lead the way as they got out. 

One of the Jotnar grunted as he acknowledged Loki's presence, standing at full height and looming over both Loki and Ingvar. The three of them were twice Loki's height and wore clothes made of animal pelt. Huge axes and spear were ready on their hand. 

Loki's lips twitched at one corner, hinting at a smirk, when she realized the giants were assessing her. Perhaps even tried to intimidate her with their heights and scowls. 

"Good morning, gentlemen." Loki said after she let the silence hang in the air long enough. "It is good to see you." 

"Quit it with the pleasantries," growled one of the Jotnar who had a bone piercing on his nose. "We are not here for a friendly visit." 

"Ah, but you are my guests," countered Loki easily; her smile was firmly in place. "And technically, we shall be friendly towards each other." 

The Jotun that was standing on the far right stabbed the ground with the blunt edge of his spear before hissing, "We do not fully trust you." 

"Yes, of course." Loki said calmly whilst rubbing her hands together in the pretense of creating heat. Truth be told, the coldness of the morning air that bit into her skin did not bother her at all. In fact, she could not remember when any cold _bothered_ her. "It is foolish to trust someone you just met, I could say the same about the three of you. Which is why you are allowed to ask questions regarding this task and perhaps my answers would ease your worries." 

The Jotnar threw glances toward each other. It was obvious that they were considering which information they wanted to know first. 

Looking at their appearance, it seemed that they were not royal guards. No, they were too… What was the word again? Scruffy. Too scattered and casual to pass as royal guards who had years practicing manners. Granted, they did not know Loki was a part of the royal family, but still, the way they talked was different, too rude and too mismatched to be considered a group of people who spent most of their time in the palace. 

Not to mention, their Jotun markings were too simple and too little to be related to royal bloodlines or served them directly. Loki remembered he was taught that the more complex the markings were, the higher the position of the Jotun was. And for royals, they usually had a unique marking on their forehead that curved upward like tiara. 

Briefly, Loki entertained the thought that they were sellswords too, just like Ingvar. And the more she thought about that, the surer she became. 

_How interesting._

That meant the crown prince wanted pawns that didn't have direct ties with him, thus allowing him to get rid of them easily if worse came to worst, but were still skillful nonetheless. 

After a long moments passing in another silence, the Jotun that was in the middle spoke, "We want to know why you are doing this. Why risking yourself to help Jotunheim?"

Much to her relief, she already expected that question. And of course, the answer had been prepared beforehand. 

"Let's just say that I have an unresolved issue with the royal family." Loki shrugged; her shoulders worked on an elegant roll. "It's a long story. And honestly, we don't have a lot of time to waste." 

It was obvious from the frown now etched onto the Jotnar's faces that they did not completely buy it even though technically, what Loki said wasn't a lie. No, she didn't lie when it wasn't necessary. Telling people the incomplete truth, on the other hand, was her favorite method to get what she wanted. 

"So, am I allowed to explain the plan right now or are you going to discuss whether I tell the truth and risk losing chance to steal the casket?" Loki told them in a casual tone, as if her words didn't have any weight. But they did. They had a pressure woven into them, a manipulative reminder of the priority the Jotnar brought all the way to Asgard. 

"It's not _stealing_ the casket, it's _bringing_ it home." Hissed the Jotun that was standing on the right. "The casket is ours, the All-Father _stole_ it." 

Loki sighed, resisting the urge to massage the bridge of her nose. "Yes, yes, my apologies for the wrong wording. Now please could we focus on the task at hand?" 

The Jotun in the middle threw his partner a sideways glance before speaking, "What are your plans?" 

Loki smiled victoriously. She put her hand behind her cloak to produce three vial bottles out of her pocket dimension and presented them to the Jotnar. They looked at the vial bottles with a perplexed look before glancing at Loki to prompt her to elaborate. 

"These will help conceal you from Heimdall's all-seeing eyes." She began, and shook the vial bottles a bit to show the shiny green liquid a bit better to everyone who was present. "The potion will turn you into a mouse for the duration of five hours before the effect disappears and you will transform back into your original form." 

This one, of course, was a lie. A half lie, actually. The liquid inside the vial bottles was just ordinary water that she gave a sparkly green color with her _seidr_ since she didn't have time to make potion. She would have to transform them directly, just as soon as the Jotnar drank it all. 

"Where did you get it?" the middle-Jotun wondered aloud. He was still staring at the green liquid that gave a weak glow with suspicion. 

"I have a witch friend," was all Loki said before she continued as if she never got interrupted. "As soon as you turn into mice, I will ask Ingvar to put you in the carriage that delivers food to the palace. And then you can proceed on your own from there."

"But," Loki raised her pointer finger to signal a warning. "The carriage only arrives two hours later so that leaves you three hours to locate the vault where Odin keeps the casket. So, use the remaining time wisely." 

When the Jotnar remained silent after a moment passed since she ended the explanation, Loki decided to ask, "Is there anything you want to ask before we do this?" 

The Jotnar were looking at each other again before the left-Jotun decided to speak out. "Aren't you going to guide us inside?" 

"Unfortunately, no, I won't," Loki shook her head for emphasize. "Because I don't know where the vault is. Therefore, even if I came with you, I would be of no use, I'm afraid. But the good news is, is that my insider have put traces of scent that mouse can retrace all the way to the weapons vault." 

"So, I think three hours is going to be enough to find it." She said calmly, and then, "Or is it not?" Loki added, making it sound like an afterthought with a hint of doubt of the Jotnar's ability to execute the plan to gain the reaction she wanted. 

"It's more than enough," grunted the right-Jotun. The other two Jotnar immediately looked his way with wide eyes. "Is that all we need to do?" 

It was a challenge, Loki thought. The right-Jotun had pride bigger than his body which made him an easy target for manipulation. Loki eased her lips into an easy smile at the thought. 

"Well, yes. I take it that it's an easy task for professionals like you." She prompted for another reaction, and was delighted when the Jotnar straightened their shoulders and fixed their stance so it mimicked that of royal guards' at the subtle compliment. 

"Now if there are no more questions. Could we proceed?" Loki offered the three vial bottles to the Jotnar; her eyebrows raised as the three giants took their time to examine the bottles in her hands with wary settled on their faces.

When it did not seem like the Jotnar would take the potions anytime soon, Loki cleared her throat. It snapped the Jotnar into looking at her immediately, and then the middle-Jotun collected the bottles from her hands. They looked so small compared to the size of the Jotun's hands; it worried Loki a bit that the Jotun was going to accidentally break them. 

Thank Norns that it did not seem to be the case, because he deposited the bottles to his partners with carefulness that surprised even Loki. 

Seeing the Jotnar open the bottles and drink the green liquid inside brought a satisfied smile to Loki's face. All she had left to do was time the transformation, set up the trails for the Jotnar to follow in their mouse form, and build up an invisible barrier near the vault which would force them to transform back to their Jotun form. 

And after that, it was only a matter of how she would manipulate Hela. 

* * *

Sleep, as it turned out, was hard to find. Loki was hoping to catch some after the final preparations were done. That left him lying in bed for almost half an hour before it finally came to him. 

He managed to catch some undisturbed shut-eye for what felt like several hours before the door to his chamber echoed with harsh knocks. It startled Loki into wakefulness. Blinking blearily at the wall whilst sitting up in bed, Loki tried to focus on the rapping.

Then he remembered his plan — which, of course, made the urgent knocking make sense in his tired mind. Loki groaned loudly, uncaring if the messenger or the guard on the other side of the room heard him, before flopping himself back to bed and rolling around on it for at least a minute. He considered about making the person wait, drawing the torture longer for disturbing his sleep but decided to rise out of bed and put on his green robe instead before going to open the door. 

Loki opened it so suddenly that the guy wearing messenger uniform halted his fist in midair awkwardly. Upon seeing Loki's unimpressed gaze, he paled slightly and went to fix his stance with his hands rigidly falling to his sides. 

"Yes?" Loki hissed out the word, making sure to let his annoyance visible. 

"My apologies for d-disturbing your sleep, Your Highness," stuttered the messenger in panic, "B-But, there is an urgent matter." 

Loki pretended to be instantly alert. "What happened?" 

"T-The vault, Your Highness," the messenger stammered, "The weapons vault has been broken in. Queen Frigga is asking for your presence this very moment, my Prince." 

"Tell mother I will be right there." Loki told the man firmly. 

"Very well, my Prince." The messenger bowed hurriedly as Loki shut the door in his face. 

When he was alone again in his chamber, Loki was pacing around. Anxiety was coiling in his chest whilst his mind went a mile a minute. Was he really ready for this? Was there something amiss? Did Heimdall see the truth? Did his mother know? 

All the questions were screaming inside his head as time kept passing. First thing first then, he needed to get dressed. Thus he broke his pacing and walked to his closet instead. 

He hoped he did not miss anything in his planning. 

* * *

When Loki entered the weapons vault, the broken doors and strong scent of something burning greeted him. 

He waved his hand in front of his nose and then covered it as he walked to where Frigga, Hela, and Odin's advisors were. 

"What happened?" Loki asked in a hurry, "Who broke in?" 

The four of them snapped their attention toward him immediately; each one presented different emotions on their faces. The advisors were concerned and angry, Frigga was carefully neutral, and Hela… Well, she looked wrathful. 

The two advisors bowed at him respectfully before answering his question, "It's the Jotnar, my Prince. They broke in with the intention of stealing the Casket of Ancient Winters." 

Loki let his eyes wander to the casket briefly, the blue of it swam to the center slowly and the glow dimmed ever so slightly as if in sorrow. Something was tugging at his heartstrings, like it often did whenever he caught sight of the casket. And he could feel the pull, some kind of odd gravity that attracted him to the casket—the heart of Jotunheim. His throat worked on a swallow and he forced to tear his eyes apart from it. 

But then his gaze landed on the three bodies, the Jotnar, on the floor. 

Two of the bodies were burned badly that Loki could only recognize some parts, courtesy of the Destroyer; they were the middle and right Jotnar, he noted inwardly. The other one died from the necroswords piercing through his chest, stomach, and throat. Blood, darker than that of Aesir's, was pooling all around the body. Everyone in the vault knew who did that even without addressing it out loud. 

Then, there was another body in the corner of the room which Loki recognized as one of the guards from his outfit. The Jotun's axe was found sitting on his stomach. Again, Loki tore his gaze from the sight and let it fall on Frigga who looked at him with concern. 

The sight of dead people never failed to make him slightly uncomfortable, no matter however many times he witnessed it. No matter if he had a hand in it or even the one who directly executed it. 

A pang of guilt surprisingly lodged itself in his heart. The sensation of it was cold and unforgiving, and Loki took a deep breath in the hopes of killing it once he was calmed. 

"I see," was all he could manage to say, and Loki mentally commended himself for not letting his voice waver. 

"They managed to get in undetected," he heard one of the advisors said. It was Tyr, one of Odin's most trusted. "How did they manage to do it?!" 

"Perhaps someone helped them," the other advisor piped in helpfully. It was Frode, Odin's advisor that Loki rarely talked to. 

"Are you saying there is a traitor?" Tyr asked disbelievingly. "An Aesir who is siding with Jotnar?!" 

"I'm saying it's a possibility that someone in the palace helped them," Frode insisted, "it doesn't necessarily mean they have to side with them." 

"Then, why in Hel's name did they help them?" Tyr argued. 

Loki watched them bickering with far-away look. Their voices sounded muffled, as if he heard it from under the water. He had neither the energy nor the will to separate them. 

Until Hela decidedly walked past him to the doors and out of the weapons vault that Loki regained his focus. 

He stopped Frigga from going after Hela and said calmly, "I will try to talk to her." 

Friga hesitated for a moment, before nodding and flashing him a grateful smile. "Be patient with her." She said whilst caressing Loki's arm in a motherly way. 

Loki only smiled and nodded in return before he followed Hela out of the weapons vault. Out of the carnage he had caused. 

* * *

Loki managed to find Hela in the hallway that led to the training yards. She was pacing around restlessly whilst the servants tried their best to either avoid her entirely or hurriedly walked past her. 

He pondered for a bit of how he was going to approach her. Hela in neutral mood was already difficult to deal with, but in a bad mood? Even the dark elves were going to cower in fear. 

He bit his lip and willed his heart to calm down. After all, he had nothing to fear. He had been this far, like Hel he was going to back away. 

"Hela," Loki said softly, as a way of greeting. 

Hela did not seem surprised to see Loki there; she must have noticed Loki following her all the way there. She halted her pacing to glower at Loki, dared him to get closer. 

Loki immediately raised his hands in a placating manner, it was as if he was trying to approach a wild animal. 

"I know you're upset," he began, "and I felt the same, truly, but no one was expecting this either." 

Hela looked downright murderous; she was opening her mouth as if to want to spit venom, but against all odds, she closed it again and resumed her pacing. 

"How _dare_ they?!" She then cursed under her breath. "How dare they step foot in Asgard!" 

"It's because father is currently away…" Loki quipped, only to regret it seconds later when Hela glared daggers at him. 

"But _I_ am _here_ , in Asgard!" Hela snarled; she was now facing Loki completely. "If they think me _weaker_ than father," Hela drawled out the emphasized word with so much disgust and hatred, "then I will see to myself that they receive my wrath!" 

Loki noticed that they were completely alone now; it was possible that word got around that Hela was terrorizing this area. 

Loki found himself feeling that icy guilt again, and decided to take a deep breath again to regain his composure. He definitely did not want to think about _why_ or even wondered how the image of the casket and the bodies of the Jotnar came to mind as he was about to follow the next step of his plan. 

"Hela, please, let's think about this carefully." Loki said, trying to let a hint of desperation bled through his tone. 

"And what _exactly_ do you suggest we think about, dear brother? Hela snapped; she seemed ready to call for her necroswords anytime now and Loki backed off instinctively. 

"All right," he said again, seemingly to think for a moment before slyly adding, "let's start thinking about not doing anything _foolish_." 

Hela was narrowing her eyes, then. Clearly not liking what she thought Loki was implying. 

"We should wait for father to come back before deciding our next move." Loki told her without breaking eye contact even though he desperately wanted to. "He is the _king_ , and the right to decide the future of Asgard still lies in _his_ hand." 

The reaction he hoped for (and feared of) came upon him in an instant. Hela stride off to him faster than he had expected and before he knew it, Loki was backed into a wall. 

"Are you saying I'm _incapable_ of making the right decisions without father?!" Hela was outraged, and she bared her teeth like a wolf about to pounce upon its prey. 

"No! All I'm saying is that you couldn't _possibly_ throw Asgard into a war without her king's approval!" Loki all but squeaked. He hated to admit that he didn't have to feign the stress that he let out through his voice. 

Hela stopped in her tracks, still glowering at Loki though she did not seem to want to attack. 

"Think about this, sister! The All-Father is absent from his post in Asgard." Loki tried to explain in a hurry. "So we can't just… I don't know, march off to Jotunheim on all our own?" 

At that, Hela's eye twitched. She narrowed her eyes dangerously at Loki, and Loki found himself swallowing down the lump in his throat. 

Then, the glare turned into a considering look as she lifted his chin. It happened slowly, but the effect it caused was immediate. Despite himself, Loki could feel shivers run down his spine as he witnessed a cruel smile graced Hela's face. 

It was all sharp edges and cold. 

And Loki thought briefly whether he really could survive unscathed as he saw what he knew to be the promise of violence. 

* * *


	2. Winter of Jotunheim (Part II)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki meets a weird Jotun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slight delay, but it's here! Happy reading :)

"By the Norns, Hela, this is  _ madness _ !" Loki told his sister for what seemed like the hundredth times that day. He raised his voice so it could be heard despite the strong wind as they rode their horses through the Bifrost. 

"I've heard that," was all Hela said in return. She did not take Fenris in the fear of causing a commotion and alerting Frigga of what they were about to do. 

"Then, perhaps you should listen to me." Loki looked over to Hela again and saw how determination set into her eyes. Some of Loki's hair flew to his face and covered his eye, courtesy of the wind, and he jerked his head to clear his sight off of any wild strands. He mentally wondered if his black robe would be enough to keep him warm and protect him from Jotunheim weather. 

It was Hela's turn to look at him, although with deadpan. "Are you afraid that we'll lose?" She shot her eyebrows high as if daring Loki to say yes. 

"Well, we are heading to  _ Jotunheim,  _ sister. There will be  _ many _ of them!" Loki hissed at her. 

Hela gave him an unimpressed look. "That's why I'm here." She returned her gaze to the front again and added, "And in case you forgot, we are also bringing the best warriors that I have handpicked personally." 

It was as close as Hela trying to comfort him. He almost rolled his eyes for the ridiculousness of it, because Hela in battle would not care to protect anyone other than herself and Fenris. But Hela's words made him peek over his shoulder to the warriors following in their heels with their respective horses. 

All of them had put on their best sets of armors and brought with them their toughest weapons; definitely well-prepared, Loki noted. 

Perhaps they would be fine. 

As for Loki himself, he was also prepared for this. There was no way Hela would let him stay on Asgard, and besides, he had to make sure she would make a mess in Jotunheim. That did not mean he would eagerly and happily fight the Jotnar, though. 

Ahead of them, Heimdall's Observatory was getting closer and closer. And upon closer inspection, it seemed Heimdall was standing outside to greet them. 

All the horses halted just before Heimdall, and the Gatekeeper watched them in silence; his gaze kept shifting between Hela and Loki. 

Hela raised her brows as she told him, "We wish to go to Jotunheim." 

"You would want to wear something warmer to go there," Heimdall shot back. 

Loki's gaze swiftly slid to Hela's clothes — green and black tunic and trousers which were pressed to her figure beneath a set of official armors, along with a pair of knee-high boots — and then to his own — long black robe that narrowed in the waist and under it, a black tunic with high collar and thick gold line that looped downward on his collarbone (he also wore a similar pair of boots as Hela's) — before he returned his eyes to Hela and Heimdall back and forth. 

It almost seemed like Hela would lose patience soon because the Gatekeeper still wouldn't move from his spot and if she couldn't rein in her anger, Heimdall could alert Frigga, or worse, Odin. 

He needed to step in. 

"We only wish to investigate the break-in," Loki pleaded, "please." He made sure to look exhausted and innocent enough in order to gain Heimdall's pity. 

"I am sure you are well aware that the peace treaty is in talks at the moment," Heimdall gave him a weird look, but his expression was unreadable, which left unsettling feeling in Loki's stomach. 

When Loki opened his mouth to argue, Heimdall raised his hand and added, "One wrong move and it could risk burning All-Father's effort to dust." 

Loki hurriedly said, "Yes, we do understand the gravity of the situation," before Hela could snap. 

"Do you?" Heimdall inquired; he was still looking at Loki with that indecipherable gaze — golden eyes boring through him as if they could dissect his mind. 

Loki willed his heart to not speed up under Heimdall's penetrating gaze. And he also braved himself not to be the one to break eye contact first. 

"Jotunheim has sent their lackeys to break into the weapon's vault, one of Asgard's most important places," Hela snapped after a long tense moment passed, "by choosing to remain silent, we are letting them think that Asgard is  _ weak _ and afraid." 

"And," Loki chirped in whilst looking at Hela, "they might think that we are so desperate for the peace treaty that we're willing to overlook an important matter such as this. That will give them the upper hand in the discussion and put the king in a tight spot." 

His sister returned his gaze, and even though Hela did not give any hint of gratefulness, her eyes softened in approval. 

Heimdall remained unmoving from his spot, but he seemed to be considering. His gaze fell upon them both as he weighed the pros and cons of letting them pass. 

Then, he turned on his heel all of a sudden. Loki then used the opportunity to sigh in relief, finally free of Heimdall's all-seeing gaze. 

"You might want to leave your horses here," the Gatekeeper said as he walked back to his Observatory. "The wolves of Jotunheim will see any animals you bring as prey." 

_ They will see us as food too _ , Loki wanted to say, but decided against it. 

Loki and Hela hopped off of their horses, the warriors they brought along followed their lead and together, they went inside the Observatory where Heimdall waited. 

"There are a few things I wish to say before you go into the Bifrost chamber," Heimdall told them grimly. "Firstly, it's impossible to drop you off too close to the palace since there is an invisible magic barrier, as you already know, that prevents the Bifrost and my sight from reaching it. This makes me unable to watch over you once you step inside the barrier, and you will be on your own from thereafter."

"Secondly, even if you are already outside of the barrier, I cannot open the Bifrost for you if there is danger nearby. It will be a failure for me as a gatekeeper if I allowed an enemy into Asgard. I hope Your Highnesses will understand." 

Loki was sure Heimdall was hinting at sarcasm with the last sentence, although he couldn't detect it from his tone. 

"Thirdly, this is the last but not least important, please for the sake of Asgard and the All-Father, do not instigate any altercation that could endanger your well-being and the success of the peace treaty discussion." 

Heimdall stared at Hela pointedly as he said this. His gaze was unwavering even as Hela narrowed her eyes dangerously. 

"We understand all of the things you said as well as the consequences that may come afterwards. And you may rest assured, our visit is only to investigate and not start a war. We would be fools otherwise." Loki spoke up and wore his most believable look as he gazed at Heimdall. 

There was a brief moment of silence before Heimdall nodded slowly and drew out Hofund, his sword. He put it in the control panel with ease; a soft humming was heard as the apparatus of the Observatory started up. 

The Bifrost energy quickened along the bridge, feeding into the Observatory. Then Heimdall turned Hofund in the control panel once, making the giant turret of the Observatory swing around to aim in the direction of Jotunheim. And as the final step of the procedure, Heimdall plunged his sword deeper into the control panel; after he did so, the giant turret fired the Bifrost energy that formed a multi-colored vortex all the way to Jotunheim. 

"Be careful on your way," Heimdall told them simply as the end of the platform opened the Bifrost to them. "I, too, am interested to find out how they managed to get into Asgard." 

That last bit was said ominously; the weight of his voice had Loki turning to look at him spontaneously. But Heimdall was not looking at him - at least it didn't seem like it. His back was turned to them. 

Hela did not take that as something important, though. She merely gave Heimdall a casual glance before getting into the Bifrost and disappeared into swirls of colors. 

Finding his tongue unable to weave any words, Loki decided to get into the Bifrost as well. The warriors followed soon after. 

He did not realize his boots had touched the snow as the panic of being found out settled in his mind. The nudge on his rib from Hela's elbow was the one to bring him back to the situation at hand. 

Loki blinked at Hela once, twice, before he croaked out, "Sorry, you were saying?" 

Hela snorted and simply said, "I didn't." 

It was when he watched Hela's retreating back that he allowed himself to really  _ look _ at their surroundings. And he couldn't help but gape. 

The sight that greeted him was of a brilliant lustrous white spreading all the way to the horizon to meet the opalescent blue of the sky. It was nothing like he thought, nothing close to the barren land of his imagination that devoid of anything except ice, the Jotnar, and animals that were native to the harsh climate of Jotunheim.

Odin might have brought him to a few battles, but never to Jotunheim before for reasons unknown except to him. He was never tasked with the raid to this frozen realm, so it was a surprise to find the land was… still surviving despite the war, and without the Casket to top it all off. 

Hela's description of Jotunheim was also not helping, for she only said that there was nothing interesting except the wolves which then led her to bring back one of the pups to Asgard after she found him almost died in the hands of one of Asgard warriors. She then raised that wolf and named him Fenris. 

And the things he overheard from the warriors were mostly about the Jotnar, of how brutish and savage they were — a complete monster. Never about Jotunheim itself, about how pretty the tall forests looked covered with soft snow and glistening ice. Or how the plants with some frozen branches and fruits looked like something out of a children's storybook, or a dream even. He had never seen anything like that in Frigga's garden, the garden that housed all of the plants, trees, and flowers from all over the Nine Realms; so the excitement of finding something new bursting inside his chest, and his green eyes twinkled with wonder as he shelved everything he saw into memory. 

Loki suspected the reason why Frigga's garden, Fensalir, didn't have them had something to do with the ice; Jotunheim ice could potentially be a manifestation of energy from the realm itself. So, when the Casket was taken, Jotunheim produced more ice to support all the native dwellers in order for them to survive. 

But if Loki's theory was correct, he wondered how long it would be until the energy eventually ran out and Jotunheim would collapse. 

He frowned to himself as a sense of dread crept over him at the thought. 

Occupied with his own thoughts, Loki did not realize that they were already venturing into the woods. It was the feeling of someone or something watching him that had Loki finally glanced sideways only to find nothing but dark tall trees and snow. But he was pretty sure he felt eyes following his every step, and it remained like that until what seemed to be half an hour; even the warriors that came with them felt restless behind him. 

Hela noticed it too, Loki was sure, but it was either she did not care or she just did not want to make a sudden movement for it could be easily mistaken as fear. 

No matter though, Loki would not even bother telling her what she already knew. 

The rest of their journey passed without incident. They were still being watched, but nothing came out to jump on them; only occasional shadows that moved too fast for untrained eyes deep in the forest.

It still made Loki feel unsettled, although he did a good job of acting like it did not affect him. Hela was even better at it, however much he hated to admit; it was not surprising but still managed to get under his skin. 

What made it even worse was that they had to climb up the hill with thick snow that reached his knees. It slowed him down, although he could still manage to keep up with Hela. 

At least, Loki mused, the cold was slowly getting to Hela judging by the way she shivered and her jaw clenched. The trembling was barely there and might be easily missed for those who didn't know her well. The state the warriors were in weren't any better either; the loud chattering of their teeth and the occasional rubbing of their palms were a dead giveaway. 

And well, Loki wouldn't be Loki if he did not take delight in that knowledge. 

His amusement did not last long though, for they had reached the place they intended to visit in the heart of the provincial capital. The clouds had rolled in when they exited the woods, hiding the multi-hued blue from sight. But, Loki couldn't care less about that, for his gaze was captured by the landmark in front of them. 

The ice palace of Jotunheim stood tall in the center of a frozen lake — snow covered most of its surface, but the turquoise glow beneath was still visible from some of the ice that protruded upwards and from some areas that had lessen snow — with tall and sharp ice spikes sprouted from the foundations and palace walls; it was hidden behind mountains and hills which made it difficult to reach. 

The castle itself cast the same turquoise glow as the frozen lake; it looked a bit eerie and menacing but the architecture was impressive. Each of the tower had unique shapes and the longer he observed it, the more Loki was able to map out intricate carvings that graced the palace walls. 

A sudden rustling sound coming from their right startled Loki and returned to the state of vigilant. 

Coming out from the forest was a wolf of Jotunheim — as huge as Fenris in size, white in color, and wore a mesh of ruby as collar that matched the color of its eyes. It walked to the edge of the frozen lake and sat there before them. The wolf was staring at them sharply but made no move to attack; Loki could see the intelligence behind those ruby red eyes as it waited for them to approach, the same intelligence and considering look that Huginn and Muninn, Odin's ravens, had showed to be capable of. 

Loki and Hela looked at each other before wordlessly resumed their walk until they reached a few steps away from the white wolf. 

Loki licked his bottom lip as he stared up at the wolf; it seemed more docile than Fenris, never once displayed a sign of aggressiveness. It seemed to wait for one of them to speak. Loki didn't know the rank this wolf held, didn't know whether the collar served as its badge, but he assumed the wolf would relay the message to the royal family. 

So Loki spoke up. 

"We would like to seek an audience with Prince Helblindi." 

The wolf regarded him thoughtfully for a few moments, Loki thought it was not going to let them pass, at first. But then, it raised swiftly to its feet and turned, giving them one last glance, before heading to the palace. 

"He wants us to follow him," Hela intoned as if it was not obvious enough to Loki. 

Loki did not comment on that, or about how Hela was able to identify the wolf's gender — the thought still amused him and piqued his interest, though — and decided to walk alongside her. 

Loki feared the ice wouldn't be able to support the combined weight of all of them at first, but after a few meters’ walk, it didn't seem to be the case. Sure it was slippery but there was no crack formed on the surface. Loki wondered if the wolf knew the safest route where the ice was thickest or all of the areas were safe for them to walk on. He had no desire to test and find out, though; guess, he would have to fly to escape if worse came to worst. 

The distance to the royal palace was farther than what it seemed from the lake shore. The warriors found it difficult to keep up with the wolf, probably afraid they would fall on their butts, Loki thought in amusement. 

Once they reached the front of the ice palace, the wolf brought them to the stairs that rounded the massive ice spikes and ended by a set of stone gates, with arched tops, encased in ice. Same with all of the palace walls, the stairs had sinuous carvings, and when they climbed it, the carvings lit up. It led to the huge carving of Yggdrasil that was placed in the middle of the gates. So when they all halted before the stone gates, the Yggdrasil came to life with captivating fluorescent blue. 

Loki gaped at the sight, swallowed by the wonder and beauty he never thought he would find in Jotunheim. The warriors were pretty much in the same state, perhaps never got this close to the palace during one of the raids to Jotunheim. Hela, on the other hand, was unsurprisingly perfectly composed, since she was an admirer of a different and more violent kind of beauty. 

Upon closer inspection, there were runes hidden between the engravings that surrounded the royal palace. Some runes were familiar to Loki, but some weren't. Two of the familiar ones were used for protection and durability, which explained why the castle was still intact even after a long period of war. But again, the magic was coming from this frozen realm that had half of its heart taken away, so Loki did not know how much longer the runes would still be in effect. 

A sound of gears clicking into place had Loki turning his head back to the stone gates. It followed by a whirr of a certain machine coming to life. And soon, the stone gates parted, breaking apart the carving of Yggdrasil as each gate was swallowed by the wall. Some ice shards were falling after a sudden move, and Loki's gaze trailed to the upper wall, fearing that the tremor would result in a webbing crack. He was relieved to find none; the spell from the runes were indeed strong. 

The gates stopped halfway, giving the wolf, Loki, Hela, and the five warriors more than enough space to come in.

As soon as they all got into the palace complex, the machine whirred again to close the gates. A loud  _ bam _ echoed as the heavy gates met in the middle, leaving them to follow the white wolf who had not halted even for a moment to see what the guests were up to. Though, maybe it was not necessary since its ears kept moving around to listen to every move and every talk they made. 

The palace complex was big as everything was in Jotunheim, but not as wide as Asgard's. It was still neat, though, Loki noted thoughtfully; with limestone flooring and a lot of luminescent plants placed in every nook and cranny to light up the area. A giant statue stood in the center, entirely made of ice. A thick black stone was used as its foundation. The statue was of Ymir, Loki recognized for he had seen it in the illustrations in one of the books he found in Asgard library that recorded the history of Jotunheim. 

Sharp scales framed Ymir's face as it glowered down at them, baring razor-sharp teeth that were glinting when light hit them. It wore a set of armor that looked more like blocks of ice being put together. 

Loki blinked once, twice when snowflakes fell on his nose, bringing more cold to his skin. He raised his head towards the sky only to see that the overcast sky had graced them with snow flurries. He had heard about the unpredictable weather of Jotunheim before and silently prayed to the Norns that there would be no storms during their visit. 

He wouldn't be able to fly if the storm hit. 

Loki's wandering eyes were back on the statue of Ymir and swiftly landed on each pathway that branched from the statue and led to other buildings and towers in the complex. 

They all followed the wolf to the north area, and judging by the size of the building they were heading to, it was likely where the royal family reside, as well as where the throne hall would be. 

As far, things had been going well. Loki would have enjoyed the little touring if not for the quiet of the palace grounds. It was too quiet; no sighting of any Jotnar whatsoever. As if the palace was abandoned by the royal family, the king's court, guards, and servants. 

And there was also the thing in the forest where they were being watched but not attacked. 

So they really were expecting their visit; had probably thought this far the moment they agreed to his terms regarding the Casket. 

Loki was still secretly glancing around for any sign of living beings besides the wolf even after their little group entered the main building. They ventured down the hallways where the flooring were a combination of white marble and ice, with the blue of the ice caging the white marble tiles and dividing them into big squares. And after two squares, there were always two ice pillars on either side. 

The deeper they got, the less marble tiles Loki spotted, but wolves and Ulfhednar statues were lining up the wall. Ulfhednar were the royal soldiers of Jotunheim, they served as the main army to the king. All of the statues were noticeably posing with pride. The royal soldiers wore special kilts with belts that had various shapes (such as skulls or chain-like plates), a necklace made of animal's teeth, fur mantles draped on their shoulders, and helmets with horns on either side of them that covered almost all of the guards' faces except their eyes and their mouths. Loki briefly wondered if they were only statues or real Ulfhednar in disguise. 

Loki only stopped eyeing the statues as they halted before a set of ice doors that guarded by no one, but seemed to be locked with a bas-relief of giant serpent that circled the doors with its head rested in the center where the door handles should be found. On the serpent's head, a green gemstone was placed. 

Loki was guessing to himself that the serpent was in fact Jormungand when the wolf took a few steps closer to the doors and, with his paw, pushed the gemstone. Almost immediately, the serpent lifted its head and slithered backwards until its whole body left to settle on the doorframe. 

The ice doors opened soon after that to let them into the hall where the Throne of Winter was expected to be. 

The white wolf unexpectedly moved to the side and his gaze flitted to them. A gesture to let them go in first, Loki noticed. He and Hela moved to enter; the five warriors were trailing behind them like lost puppies. 

The throne hall was gigantic with circular ceiling, glowing vines hanging down in the center like chandelier together with chains of small translucent ice balls that caged the vines; ice pillars that curved inward and connected to each other through the lower parts of the ceiling that formed an arch between two pillars; and of course, the ice throne or more known as the Throne of Winter that sat on the far end of the hall. 

Crystal-shaped ice lined up as a backrest for the throne and pointed ice spikes acted as its foundation. Sitting on the throne was one of the biggest Frost Giant Loki had ever seen, with his legs rested on the small stairs in the foot of the ice throne. Loki bet he would be around ten feet tall if standing. 

Their little group halted at a proper distance from the throne; silence hung in the air as Loki's group and the tall Jotun were assessing each other. 

"Laufeybarn," Hela spat, deciding to be the one to break the silence and getting this over with. Loki tried not to rub a hand over his face for Hela's dismissal for using the proper title. 

But the Jotun only quirked up an amused smile. "Odinsdottir," he greeted back. "What a surprise. Why have you brought the stench of your blood into my world?" 

Loki quickly opened his mouth, "Prince Helblindi—" 

"I demand an answer," Hela cut him sharply; her glare reminded Loki of the fire in Muspelheim. 

The Jotun — Prince Helblindi narrowed his eyes, but his expression remained neutral. "You  _ demand _ ?" 

"How did your people get into Asgard?" Hela inquired. 

"Perhaps your father has enemies in his House," Helblindi rested his chin on his fist. For someone who was discussing important matter that could threaten the talk of peace treaty, he looked rather bored. 

Loki did not need to look over his shoulder to know that the five warriors exchanged a look among themselves. They were disturbed and restless upon hearing Helblindi's words. 

Hela's face morphed into a snarl, "Do not dishonor my presence with your lies!" 

Helblindi chuckled darkly; the sound coming out was like a cracking of the ice. "With that display arrogance, there is no doubt that you are a child of Odin," he said, as if he were chastising a child. "Your father is a thief. He stole what was ours, and left our world to die slowly. We have the right to reclaim the Casket." 

"It is the victor's right to take anything from the losing side," Hela countered matter-of-factly. "You have nothing to blame besides your own weaknesses." 

Helblindi frowned at this. He dropped his fist to the armrest and leaned forward. "And why have you come here? To make peace? You long for battle. You crave it. I see you for what you are, Hela Odinsdottir. Nothing but a child, trying to prove herself a future ruler." 

Upon hearing that, Hela grew even more agitated. She was about to stride to the throne but stopped when the walls around them suddenly opened. And from inside, many Ulfhednar stepped out to make formations to protect their Crown Prince. They stood menacingly between Hela and Helblindi; all of them were at least eight feet tall. A particular Ulfhedinn whose helmet was different from the others took a position near the king. 

His wolf-shaped helmet with Jotunheim's symbol in the middle of it gave away that he was the War-Jarl, the general of Ulfhednar. 

And then, the wall behind the throne opened and revealed another Jotun. The wall closed as soon as he stepped out to stand at the right side of the throne. He was not dressed like an Ulfhedinn. His outfit was similar to Helblindi's, in which both of them wore gold kilts and gold plates for their shoulders and hands. And like Helblindi, there was a gold badge in the middle of his chest, along with sinuous markings. A particular set of markings that curved upward was found on his forehead which was a sign of royal blood. 

"Is everything fine?" The Jotun asked Helblindi without looking at him; his glare pinned Hela down. 

"Almost as fine as ragnarok, dear brother." Helblindi chuckled humorlessly. 

Loki's throat worked in a swallow as he scanned the hall, counting the Ulfhednar and calculating his chance of escaping the palace unscathed. Behind him, the five warriors seemed ready to attack; their hands were close to each of their weapons that were still sheathed on their belt whilst looking at the closest Ulfhednar with wariness in their eyes. 

Loki moved next to Hela and grasped her elbow gently. "Hela, stop and think. I gave my word to Heimdall that we won't do anything  _ reckless _ ." 

Hela turned to glare at him. Loki backed away slightly when he saw the determination to bring violence in Hela's eyes. 

"Know your place, brother…" Hela said coldly and wrestled her elbow away from Loki's grip. "And besides,  _ I _ have not given mine." 

"You should listen to his counsel," said Helblindi; his eyes briefly met Loki's and there was a twitch in the corner of his lip, an almost amused smile, but he quickly slipped into a neutral mask again and slid his gaze to Hela. "You know not what your actions would unleash." 

"But I do." He spoke again before anyone could. "Go now, while I still allow it." 

Loki threw a wary glance at Hela, saw her simmering and swiftly spoke up, "We will accept your most gracious offer." 

He looked at Hela again, this time imploringly. His sister looked downright murderous; having her question left unanswered and being  _ told _ to go must have wounded her pride. 

She kept staring Helblindi down, perhaps trying to decide whether she would strike first or not. But then after a few moments passed in a tense silence, Hela closed her eyes and took a deep breath. To Loki's surprise, she relented. 

Her sister turned around and made a move to leave. All the warriors that were previously ready to fight on Hela's command confusedly sheathed their weapons back. Loki, who were still fully on guard, followed Hela but kept a safe distance away. 

Loki almost thought it was a miracle. But then, he heard an Ulfhedinn nearby muttered under his breath, "Run back home, little princess." 

Almost on reflex, his gaze slid to Hela's hands. And it was the right thing to do because a necrosword was conjured up in a heartbeat. Loki ducked his head a moment before Hela threw the sword behind, toward the Ulfhedinn that mocked her. 

It missed the target by a few millimeters. 

In an instant, all of the Ulfhednar called the ice to their hand, shaping it into a really sharp blade. At the sight, the five warriors unsheathed their weapons again and formed an attack formation. 

Then, the clash happened. 

The Ulfhednar moved without breaking their formation, attacking whilst protecting the princes. Hela met their strikes with ease and perhaps almost with delight too. The warriors tried to prevent more Ulfhednar to close in on them. 

Axes and swords met with shields and blades made of ice; battle cries were shouted. Hela moved toward Helblindi, throwing necroswords to open her path. 

Loki was in the middle of blasting the Ulfhednar that got too close when he saw Hela approached the Crown Prince. Panic settled in, forcing him to open his own path to Hela by directing his energy blast to the group of Ulfhednar that crowded his sister like hyenas. After he deemed it opened enough, he shot his seidr at Hela and transformed her into a mouse, all the while turning himself into an eagle. 

With one quick move, Loki took off and caught Hela with his talons. Then he circled the five warriors to alert them and flew to escape. 

As Loki flew out of the throne room, the wolves were already gathering and waiting to apprehend them. They tried to bite him but Loki managed to dodge and wade through them all. The wolves followed closely behind though, and Loki sped up. The chase continued like that all the way out of the main building; Loki decided to fly high past the gate and hid behind the clouds. 

He hoped the warriors could get out of the palace safely. It was not his intention to bring them to Jotunheim to die. But it was impossible to turn back. The wolves might still go after them. 

It was in the forest where they came from that Loki put Hela down; she was running about as soon as Loki dropped her off of his talons. Loki turned Hela back into her Aesir form and flew off hurriedly in the other direction, afraid that Hela would attack him as soon as she came back from being disoriented. He could vaguely hear Hela yelling his name when he was back in Jotunheim's sky. 

The wind became even stronger then; the previous flurries of snow became even more rapid Loki needed extra effort to keep him up in the air and not getting blown away by the harsh wind. 

It was possible that the barrier ended just behind the ring of hills and mountains that protected the palace, so he was about to go past that to call for Heimdall's help. The eagle form that he was taking was the species that lived in Asgard. It was unfit to cut through Jotunheim's strong wind, thus the extra effort easily tired him out. 

He was too focused on his destination that it was almost too late to dodge a sudden attack. Changing direction suddenly made him stumble through the wind. He looked up to see his attacker: it was another eagle, but a lot bigger in size. A Jotunheim eagle. The pale feathers that grew on its body disguised it well when it was hunting its prey, especially in this weather. 

With this form, it was impossible to outrun his attacker, Loki thought bitterly. He decided to hide in the nearest mountain. 

As soon as he reached said mountain, Loki ducked sharply and let gravity took him by pulling his wings close to his body, almost furling but not really. 

He took a sudden maneuver when the ground almost welcomed him and transformed back into his Aesir form the moment he went deep into the forest, save from the giant eagle. 

Loki collapsed onto the thick snow, panting aggressively with occasional coughing as his body trembled with exhaustion after the stunt that was just done. He forced himself to stand up to his wobbly feet and walked unsteadily to one of the trees. Loki leaned into the tree trunk and braced his hands on the thighs, bending almost in half as he continued to pant. He thought to stay like that for a little while until he regained some of his strength. 

He produced a necklace from his pocket dimension, a twin to the one he gave to Ingvar a while before. With trembling hand, Loki tied the necklace to his left wrist. The green stone came to life with a gentle glow; it gave a soft tug to Loki's wrist, seemingly about to fly off toward the direction of its twin that Ingvar put in front of the secret pathway. This was Loki's plan B. If he couldn't get back to Asgard through the Bifrost, then he could follow the necklace to the secret pathway. 

One thing to keep in mind: he should only choose this method if Heimdall couldn't be reached for some unfortunate reason. Otherwise, people would be suspicious if he arrived back alone without using the Bifrost. And Frigga would know that he was involved in the Vault's break-in. 

A few minutes into his rest, a set of footsteps that approached his place was heard all of a sudden, startling Loki into alertness. 

He swiftly called forth his  _ seidr _ , letting it swallow him whole, only for it to release him back in the form of a green pit viper. As the footsteps got closer, Loki immediately slithered up the large tree trunk and rested on one of its branches. Waiting and observing, for anyone who would pass by. 

The one getting out from behind a tree was a Jotun. He was small in comparison to other Jotnar, around the same size as an Asgardian. His skin was blue, as blue as any Jotun Loki had seen so far, yet this one was oddly without any indented markings. Loki never saw a Jotun like that before; to say he instantly piqued his interest was an understatement, even despite his current unfortunate situation. 

The Jotun's hair was a shade of brilliant gold, as golden as everything was back in Asgard. It only reached his shoulders, and on the Jotun's face, the beard was kept short. Only enough to cover his chin. He wore a fur as a cape, pinned to his chest by two round metal plates. Black trousers were worn underneath his kilt, all fastened with a belt that had skull hung from it. On his back, there was a big ice hammer strapped with another belt that was connected to the one on his waist. 

The Jotun looked to his surroundings, studying it in a calm that had Loki feeling unsettled; it was the calm a good hunter possessed. He studied the snow, observing the footprints Loki forgot to hide in his haste to disguise himself under a viper's veil. 

The footprints that were impossible to identify as a Jotun looked as unsteady as Loki had felt earlier when panic crawled into his mind and released the taste of adrenaline. They blurred mid-walk, and then took a different shape of print which belonged to a creature without feet; led all the way to a tree. 

Loki willed himself not to panic; sat still in one of the branches. Waiting, anticipating, for what was surely about to come. A pair of red eyes cast a steady gaze that slithered up the tree, much the same way Loki did as a viper. That piercing gaze swallowed all the details it could find, until it ended on a quite magnificent green pit viper hiding between the snow-covered leaves. 

A quiet sigh escaped the Jotun; not a sign of satisfaction, only the acknowledgment for what Loki was. He stepped forward to the tree and halted when he was too close. The Jotun still looked to Loki, seemingly considering still with the same calm manner. 

Then, he held out his hand before Loki. Loki recognized that honest gesture for it was: a request of permission. The Jotun was a curious one, and Loki was not dissimilar. It was quite a bold move, something akin to seduction. And well, who was Loki to deny himself that? As dread and curiosity balancing precariously in the depth of his mind, his body moved forward into the welcoming palm. 

He wrapped himself, not too loose and not too tight either, on the Jotun's arm. He was open to observation, though Loki must admit, the act was mutual. His snake tongue tasted the air, and the Jotun tasted oddly like ozone. There was a charge of electricity too, humming and breathing — almost sentient. 

And when he spoke, oh, did it sound like distant thunder. Rumbling, alluring, yet not threatening. Not yet, anyway. 

"Are you lost? You seem like you lost your way to me." 

Loki considered him in return. Reptile eyes trying to gauge the Jotun's intention. Said Jotun took a seat on the tree root that burst out of the snow. He lifted his hand to better look at the viper, to better  _ admire _ it. 

"Such a beautiful creature…" The Jotun said in barely a whisper. As if they were in on a little secret. "Won't you show yourself to me?" 

The question served as a challenge as much as it was genuine curiosity. Some parts of Loki were well aware of the danger of granting that wish. The other parts, on the other hand, wanted to know what would happen. Surely, this Jotun had felt the Bifrost coming down earlier. It did not take long to connect the dots and figure out that he was an Asgardian and an intruder. 

Was the Jotun that confident in his ability to defend himself that he asked Loki to reveal himself whilst he was holding him? And was Loki also confident in his ability to defend himself from this strange Jotun? 

He wished to know. 

And there was only one thing to do to achieve that. 

He revealed himself. As asked. 

A knife was pressed to the Jotun's throat as Loki transformed back to his Aesir form. He was practically straddling the enemy's lap, looking down at him with the calmness he did not know still possess. 

"I would be careful with what I asked for if I were you." Loki smiled as he pressed his knife deeper; the sharp end of the knife grazed blue skin and drew blood from it. 

"Might I ask why?" The Jotun smiled back up at him. Delight was present under the veneer of his composure. "Shouldn't we be honest with what we desire?" 

Loki tilted his head. "I desire to leave this realm. What would you do about that?" 

At that, the smile on the Jotun's face only broadened. His hand came up to rest on the side of Loki's face. His touch was unsurprisingly cold and Loki stiffened noticeably. And somehow, it stirred something inside of him. The same cold was waking up from within him, coming alive and stretching like a beast rose from its sleep. 

The blue of the Jotun's skin smeared on Loki's skin the moment they touched, it spread the way ink spilled on a white paper. 

A pair of red eyes widened as the owner took in Loki's appearance. The appearance that was no longer completely Aesir. 

"As I said, such a beautiful creature," The Jotun said again, not bothering to hide the admiration from his voice as he Looked at Jotun's traits that covered half of Loki's face. Even the indented markings were visible; a particular serpentine marking revealed itself on his forehead. 

Loki furrowed his brows in confusion. "I beg your pardon?" 

"I have a proposition in regards to your desire." The Jotun purred, leaning toward Loki, all the while being aware that he pressed further into the edge of the blade. 

"And what might that be?" 

"I will let you go unharmed, if you survive me." A smug, almost feral grin bloomed on the Jotun's face. 

"And what am I supposed to do to survive you?" Loki asked again, fear and anticipation etched into his mind at all the possibilities. 

"Quite simple, really." The jotun answered, moving his thumb to caress Loki's face. With a lowered voice and a hint of another purr, he added, "All you have to do is  _ outrun _ me." 

And Loki smiled in return. "Do you wish to  _ hunt _ me?" 

When the Jotun answered again, it was with undisguised confidence. 

"I wish to  _ catch _ you." 

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> **1\. Ulfhednar (p), Ulfhedinn (s):** Elite warriors of Jotunheim  
>   
>  **2\. War-Jarl:** General of Ulfhednar  
> 


End file.
